Category Eco-Urban Design

The State of Georgia in the South Eastern United States enjoys a humid, subtropical climate. In winter, occasional polar air masses can bring cooler weather, however, Georgia is characterised by its typically hot and humid summers. The State can be affected by neighbouring Florida’s hurricane season. The hurricanes tend to weaken overland, becoming tropical storms of heavy rain and strong winds.

Average rainfall is moderate to heavy, varying from 45 inches in the central state to 75 inches in the mountainous northern part of Georgia.

Georgia’s state motto “Wisdom, Justice, Moderation” may well have been applied in bringing the RainShine House project to fruition. The challenge for architect, Robert M...

Austria’s largest city, Vienna, is the cultural, economic and political centre of the country. Approximately 2.3 million people (more than 25% of Austria’s population) live within the metropolitan area. In 2001 the city centre was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Dobling, a leafy, rather wealthy, residential area of single-family homes sits on the north-western outskirts of the city. If one of Dobling’s residents had taken a five month vacation from April to August in 2001, they could have been forgiven, if upon their return, they had thought a spaceship had descended into their quiet neighbourhood. Architect Georg Driendl was inspired to design and build the dwelling using the solar tube as his guiding principle...

Seattle, situated on America’s Pacific North West coast, has a strong reputation for pro-active civic policy. Urban design, building standards and the use of clean energy technologies are constantly reviewed. Seattle’s public leaders announced in February 2010 that the city aspires to become carbon neutral by 2030.

Prior to this announcement, the city’s architects were already working towards this goal. Judkins Park House in Seattle was built by Bradley Khouri of b9 architects as a speculative, sustainable design development. The aim was to maximise the allowable density on a plot already occupied by a single storey farmhouse built in 1900...

The design team employed a mainly passive strategy towards the goal of achieving an energy efficient development. A triple glazed facade with krypton filled cavities ensures the high insulation values of the building’s envelope.

The internal environment is controlled zonally by each tenant via an adjustable ventilation system, complete with heat recovery unit to mitigate energy loss. A ground heat exchanger provides additional temperature balancing. If heat energy is required, the air temperature can be raised and controlled by a minimised gas calorific value thermostat.

To supplement this strategy, the new sloping roof is covered with both ...

The solid, service elements of the Ehrlich Residence create a vertical internal massing which rises with the stairwell from 1st to 2nd floor. The creation of this atrium is a key element of the multiple “passive” strategies of sustainable design. Warm air is gathered and vented via the atrium through motorised roof slights. Negative pressure created by ocean breezes passing over the roof adds to the “stack effect”, drawing warm air from the house (Fig. 7).

A further example of the “passive strategy” is the concrete floor being designed to act as a heat sink, absorbing and storing heat during the day and emitting it at night...

Placed improbably between a pair of historical listed buildings, the contemporary facade of Gap House is a mere 2.3 metres wide. This newly built, four bedroom family home is the winner of the 2009 R. I.B. A. Manser Medal.

Situated in a conservation area in West London, the challenging site was used by the practice as a case study in energy generation and conservation. As the plot was constrained, it was originally an alleyway and a rear garden, the considered use of space was vital to the creation of a functional dwelling.

The innovative design stacks three individual bedrooms in the narrowest section of the plot. These sleeping quarters are located on the street elevation...

The design strategy for the Margarido House skillfully integrated contemporary architectural styling with cutting edge, green technology. The photovoltaic canopy positioned at second floor level combines the requirement to supplement electrical power with shading of the first floor living rooms. The positioning of the cantilevered support structure also defines the building’s elevations (Fig. 8, Fig. 9).

Concrete flooring and walls created a thermal mass for heating and cooling. The concrete used on the site contained a minimum of 25% fly ash...

Named after the river Inn on which it lies, the city of Innsbruck, is the main conurbation in the Austrian Tyrol. To the north lie the Bavarian Alps, and to the south, the Oztal and Zillertall Alps. Within this western tail of the country, narrowed by mountains, Lohbach Multiple Independence provides a response to the rapidly increasing demand for affordable living space.

In the city of Innsbruck, urban planners considering expansion identified the need for a high density, high quality, social housing project. Innsbrucker Stadtbau GmbH (an agency of the city) in consultation with the local community, commissioned driendl architects to design the Lohbach scheme...

La Petite Maison du Weekend was constructed for the Fabrications Exhibition at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus Ohio. This prototype of a two person, self-sufficient dwelling, can be likened to the ‘concept’ cars to be found on the stands of forward thinking manufacturers at the Geneva Motor Show.

La Petite Maison is a working demonstration of minimalist accommodation. The unit was designed to be located on any unserviced outdoor site, providing the basic requirements to comfortably sustain life in a sheltered environment.

The shelter includes a raised loft for sleeping. A basic kitchen including sink, food storage and a small propane burner for cooking is contained in a hinged closet...

The facade of Thin Flats is at once a surface and a void, blurring the limits of the units within. The facade of the lower units is pushed back from the sidewalk to accommodate circulation, flood a ‘basement’ space with light aid in solar shading and create a veil from public view. Balconies on upper floors recess from behind the surface of the veil to create opportunities for civic engagement within the thin space of the facade.